Beauty 24/7

Lydia coughed into her hand, lightly. She looked up at the ceiling, and played with her lip piercing, out of habit.

Oliver glanced over at her when he heard the noise, then to the door, grinning when Sylvia walked it.

"Oliver, darling," she began as he just sat her bag on the counter.

Oliver chuckled and winked at the woman. "Welcome back, Sylvia," he began as he took her coat for her.

She was older, around 35, 40, maybe, but he'd still do her. He grinned devilishly. She never failed to come in; she was here every day for a massage from him. She was rather posh and well groomed, thinking anything but hot, young men were trash and would constantly tell Oliver about her weekend adventures without her husband.

Lydia watched the women, enviously. She narrowed her eyes, her hand dropping to her lap, where her fingers intertwined, helplessly. She listened to Oliver greet her, and tilted her head when he took her coat.

Who was she?

Oliver glanced at the girl as he put the coat on the rack beside her. "The usual?" he suggested. She nodded with a gentle grin and slowly made her way to the back room, aka the massage room.

He closed the door behind him and lit an incense as she stripped, laying down on the freshly papered table.

He grabbed his bottle of oil, began conversation, and got to work.

Lydia frowned. She shrugged it off, but jumped when Helix came storming into the salon. He saw Lydia and began cussing, swearing and screaming- of course, in Polish. All because she wandered off. Aye, Lydia's boyfriend wasn't as nice as she'd hoped he would be.

About thirty minutes later, the woman exited with her top on a little awkward and her hair pinned back up messily whilst Oliver stayed in the back and prepared the table for another customer.

He stopped and listened in when he heard screaming and yelling. He decided it was just a bit too loud for his taste and walked out of his room. "Oi!" he called to the man yelling at her. "Get on, leave. You're being too obnoxious and loud."

Lydia looked up at Oliver, then up at Helix. She raised her eyebrows, nervously fiddling with her jacket, behind her back, and relaxed when he huffed and stormed out. She sunk back into her chair, muttering a small "thanks" to Oliver.

Oliver nodded once, then smiled at Sylvia as she tipped him, a good fifteen pounds. He smirked a bit and pocketed it, helping her with her coat and giving a small thanks as she grabbed the rest of her things and exited.

He sat beside the Polish girl and looked at her. "Who was that?" he asked. "The one yelling at you, I mean."

"Him?" Lydia asked, her Polish accent making her voice seem a little sweet. She shrugged, twisting her mouth to the side. "Helix."

"I, er, dunno what that means," Oliver muttered, not understanding that was his name. "Erm... what is he to you? A mate?"

"No, no, no." Lydia laughed, gently. "Helix, is... his name." she nodded, slowly. "He's, my boyfriend, but," she paused, shrugging, looking up at Oliver through her eyelashes, but only for a second. "Wish he was not."

Oliver's hopes sank a little at the word, but part of him hoped she just used the wrong word. He sighed, knowing she didn't, then shrugged. Just friends then. "Yeh?" he asked, surprised at how much English she could comprehend. "Why not?"

Lydia pressed her hands together in her lap, nervously. "Helix, uh." she paused, thinking of the word. "Hurts." she nodded. "Hurts, me." she murmured, then shook her head. She couldn't leave him. He threatened her when she tried, or, like she said, hurt her.

Oliver's oblivious look instantly sunk to a frown. "Physically... like," he made a face, trying to put it into simple terms. "Your feelings or like..." he showed his own hand to her, then smacked the top of it. Oliver cursed himself for not knowing how to put it in simpler terms.

Lydia laughed, softly, although the smile was no where near reaching her eyes. "Uhm... both?" she paused, nodding. She had the right word. "Both, both. It hurts." she muttered, her tongue running over her lip piercing.

Oliver's frown only deepened, no comic relief through even her laugh. "You have to get out of that relationship," he began. "Look, it's never going to change. If you go to the police, they can fix everything." He wasn't concentrated too much on her understanding and groaned softly. He wished she could just understand damn English. He didn't know a bit of... whatever she was. Russian?

Lydia nodded, pausing. "Police." she murmured, nodding. She understood that. "But, Helix. Threatens." she frowned, lookng up at Oliver.

Oliver sighed gently. "The police can handle that. They can help you, they can put him in jail so he can't hurt you."

Lydia nodded. She smiled, sadly, and leaned in, gently kissing Oliver's cheek, for a good few seconds. Longer than she should've kissed his cheek for, anyway. She pulled back and played with her bracelet again, biting her lip, her cheeks pink.

Oliver's eyes got a bit wide as he felt her lips on his cheek. He smiled a bit when he looked back at her. So she fancied him, then?

Lydia blushed some more, glancing up at him. "Thank, you." she murmured, slowly, glancing at his lips. She ran her tongue over her lip piercing and fiddled with a piece of string on her jeans.

Oliver grinned and nodded, not bothering to say thank you back for the kiss on the cheek, though he felt he should have. "So... you'll go to the police, then?" he confirmed, looking at her.

"Police." Lydia nodded. "Mhm." she murmured, looking up at him. "I'll... speak to the police." she promised, quietly.

Oliver smiled and relaxed a bit in his seat, glancing at the doors. Boy, was it dead today.

Lydia smiled, sadly. She curled her knees to her chest and cradled them, keeping them there. She didn't know what to say- she was scared of making a fool of herself.

[ You have the quickest showers, ever. :') ]